Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

In June 2007, Srah national school closed and amalgamated with Scoil Náisiúnta an Trian Láir. The new amalgamated school is called Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Éadaigh.

For primary school children, the school bus route starts at Tourmakeady village in the morning and travels towards Srah village along what is locally known as the low road. The bus picks up four children on the low road, turns at Srah and returns to Tourmakeady along the same road.

There is, however, a top road, that is connected to this low road by a link road that is half a mile long. There are four families with ten children who live on the upper road and all these children attend Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Éadaigh. It is common sense that for the sake of a few minutes and half a mile of road that the bus should collect the four children on the low road on the way to Srah and return on the top road on its way back to Tourmakeady to facilitate the ten children who live on the upper road. I am asking that the bus travel in a loop instead of going over and back on the same route.

The second issue is even more black and white. When Srah national school, a Gaelscoil, closed in June 2007, and amalgamated with Scoil Náisiúnta an Trian Láir to become Scoil Náisiúnta Tuar Mhic Éadaigh, the pupils from Srah were assured by the Department of Education and Science that they would be guaranteed school transport to get to the new school. A child whose name I have given to the Department was attending Srah school in 2007 and lived 1.9 miles from it. That child now attends the new school in Tourmakeady, which is five miles from his home. He applied for school transport but was told by Bus Éireann that because he was not attending his nearest school, Dereendafderg national school, he could only have transport at a cost of €200 per term. This came as a great surprise because Dereendafderg national school closed more than 35 years ago. Srah national school was the closest school when he attended in 2007 and now Tourmakeady is the closest school. The appropriate pick up point for this child is Derassa Cross. The school bus passes this cross anyway, meaning no change is required to the bus route. The child meets all the criteria to receive school transport free of charge. I ask that this is given to him as per his entitlement.

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